BULLY Bonus Page

On this page, you can listen to all of the songs recorded for the BULLY demo recording (about half of the songs in the overall show), read a complete synopsis, download the mp3 recordings, and more! This page has been released exclusively to our donors, potential sponsors, and members of the press.

Watch the “It Gets Better” Film

Download the Songs

To download any song, right-click on it’s title above the play button, and select “Save Link As.”  The selection from the menu may be worded differently, based on the browser you are using.

	DID HE THINK?	Late in the musical, Mr. Bradley (played by Brad Goertz) comes to grips with the fact that he has lost his son and marriage in one blow. “The anger and mourning, that’s a key part for what I was able to identify with with Mr. Bradley.” (Read more in an interview with "BroadwayWorld.com.)	Did He Think
	IT GETS BETTER	Shortly after Sam commits suicide, four people from around the country create “It Gets Better” project videos, singing their stories of emerging from the darkness of painful childhoods into the light of happy adult lives. The four parts are sung (in order of appearance) by Beth Lazarou, Amanda Passanante, Brad Goertz, and Eduardo Tercero. Watch the film version of this here..	It Gets Better
	WAS	Sam’s parents are being hounded by the press. After a series of questions, one reporter asks, “Please, ma’am, can you tell us who Sam Bradley was?”, and the weight of the word “was” – of hearing of her son in the past tense – suddenly hits Mrs. Bradley (played by Amanda Passanante). His death becomes real, as she reminisces about Sam as a small boy.	Was
	RAISE YOUR VOICE	At Sam’s memorial service, one woman’s song (sung by Tamara Siler) spreads to others (sung by the Ensemble), filling them with sadness and with hope.	Raise Your Voice
	HUNTER'S SONG (Explicit)	BONUS TRACK! With his parents physically fighting in the adjacent room, high school bully Hunter (played by Ryan Stowe) slams his door shut and sings a song of teenage angst against the backdrop of his hopeless home life.	Hunter's Song
	HE'S A CHILD	BONUS TRACK! As news comes in of their children's bullying of Sam, shortly after the suicide, the mothers of two of the bullies (played by Christina Stroup and Beth Lazarou) plead for their children to not be blamed.	He's a Child

Synopsis and Song List

Tentative and subject to change. Tracks in BOLD may be heard above.

The hallways of the local high school are seen as still and eerie. (PRELUDE) In the locker rooms, the boys enter and move in a highly choreographed fashion, careful to never look at each other or get noticed. Sam Bradley, a 14-year-old freshman, falls out of step and ends up staring directly at three bullies – Tommy, Hunter, and Chase – in the showers (PROLOGUE).

Sam’s home life is difficult. He hardly speaks to his parents and he sees that they’ve fallen out of love (WHEN).  Meanwhile, Chase and Tommy come to Chase’s house to find his mother, Mrs. Connolly, passed out in front of the house from popping pills prescribed to her for pain.

Back in the hallways of the school, the three bullies loom menacingly in the hallways, as students scamper by hoping not to be noticed. The bullies circle in on Sam, call him a “faggot,” and beat him up. (THE BULLIES’ SONG) Sam is too afraid to name his attackers and the guidance counselor, Mr. Ross, laments the slap-on-the-wrist response to violence.

At Hunter’s house, his parents are arguing furiously and getting violent. Hunter locks himself in his room and sings a hard rock song of unbridled youthful angst. (HUNTER’S SONG) Back at the Bradley household, Sam’s father tries in vain to talk to him. After Mr. Bradley leaves Sam’s rooms, Sam speaks his only words of the film: “Good night, dad.”

When the security cameras identify the bullies, Tommy’s father attacks him. Tommy pleads that they only did it because Sam was “looking at us.” His father, is very uncomfortable and angrily storms the principal’s office, saying that they need to let boys be boys, and that without the fighting, they’d breed a bunch of sissies. (START RAISING MEN)

The bullies have been suspended.  Sam nervously steps off the school bus, where he’s confronted by Tommy, who tries to warn him that he can’t act like that at school or else he’s going to keep getting beaten up.  Sam is too terrified to listen and runs for his life. He runs into his house and with the bullies’ taunts still ringing in his ears (THE BULLIES’ SONG, 1^ST REPRISE), he feverishly writes a suicide note and, using his father’s gun, shoots himself in the head.

We pull away from the action of the play to hear four people’s IT GETS BETTER stories of moving from suicidal thoughts in childhood to rich, fulfilling lives in adulthood.

Back at the Bradley household, the police have just left, leaving Mrs. Bradley feeling like her home has become a HOLLOW HOUSE. The press has already descended upon the town and has become the new bullies. Hunter and Chase’s mothers meet with the principal and guidance counselor to discuss how to handle the press. The mothers make tearful apologies for their sons, taking the blame themselves for their sons’ difficult childhoods. (HE’S A CHILD) Mr. Ross, the guidance counselor, is left wondering who will be next to kill him/herself. (WHO’S NEXT)

The bullies, still suspended, discuss Sam’s suicide and their blamelessness. (THE BULLIES’ SONG, 2^ND REPRISE)

That night, people gather to mourn Sam’s passing and to hope for a better tomorrow. (RAISE YOUR VOICE) On the way back from the memorial, Sam’s parents are ambushed by the press, asking questions about Sam’s sexual orientation, life, and suicide. When one of the reporters asks Mrs. Bradley, “Can you tell us who Sam Bradley was,” the enormity of the word “was” floors Mrs. Bradley. (WAS) The Bradleys escape the press, but the reporters have their story and they’re ready to move on to the next bit of sensationalism. (THE MORE IT BLEEDS)

Mr. Bradley tries to comfort Mrs. Bradley, but she pushes him away. Whatever tenuous ties were present in their marriage have now broken. Mr. Bradley feels angry at his son’s actions. (DID HE THINK)

Late at night, Sam’s memorial site is still. Tommy enters and adds a final flower to the pile. Out of nowhere, he reaches down and destroys all the flowers and is left on his knees, clutching the mangled flowers. He says simply, “You did this.”